Schweiber party '86
by wolfgirl2001
Summary: Lindsay, now a senior in college and fresh off a breakup, finds herself back at a Schweiber party.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So….if it isn't already obvious, Barry is definitely my favorite guy for Lindsay- I just thought that 1) he was the best influence on her and 2) in his brief appearance, she seemed to like him the most (in my opinion Nick seemed to annoy her more often than not). However, I can understand the viewpoint to some degree of those who said Barry was too old for her and should be dating college girls. I agree that if Barry had met Lindsay on the street it _would_ be creepy, though with Sam and Neal being best friends, I pictured them growing up together, which to me makes it a whole different ballgame. Still, I tried to show a lot of restraint in their intimacy in my previous fics in an attempt to portray Barry as a classy guy, not a jerk trying to take advantage of a sixteen-year old girl. This time, I wanted to create a scenario where they were both adults and thus not have to show the same kind of restraint. I haven't planned this ending (or endings ;) yet, but it might be darker/sexier. Was going to be a one-shot, but I kind of like the division of chapters, and foresee another few to go. Rating it M just in case.

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Chapter 1

Lindsay stood in the bathroom at her parents' house, wiping the remnants of her mascara-tear-stained face with a moistened cotton ball.

 _What a lousy way to spend my spring break. In Chippewa._

But the truth was- Lindsay needed to get away. And after what her now ex-boyfriend did to her on Wednesday night, she welcomed a change in scenery.

 _Even if it is my parents' house in my own hometown._

Despite the change of location, Lindsay still couldn't get Michael out of her mind. Or perhaps she should be more specific. Michael. In her apartment. _Naked._ On her _roommate's_ bed _. With Cindy, her roommate._

Needless to say, the trip to Fort Lauderdale that the two of them had planned for their senior year spring break- to take place all this weekend and next week, to be exact- wasn't going to happen.

But Lindsay was thankful for small favors. When she called the airline, almost hysterical, to explain her situation and cancel their trip, the airline customer service representative had been incredibly sympathetic. Upon learning that Lindsay was changing her flight because her boyfriend had been unfaithful, the woman had been able to refund part of the cost, and use the nonrefundable deposit to put towards a flight to Detroit for the same duration (which admittedly she didn't really need, since home wasn't all that far, but was a lot better than losing the money outright).

So instead of lounging on the beach with her boyfriend in sunny Florida, Lindsay found herself spending yesterday and today, humiliated and furious, crying on her old bed and being consoled by her mom in freezing-cold Michigan. But it was still better than being stuck at school, at the scene of the crime.

At the University of Chicago where Lindsay attended, she was a together, successful, straight-A math student (she had ultimately decided to major in math- although part of her felt like she had cheated an integral part of her college experience by not exploring vocations and instead picking something she was so familiar with, she was grateful to have something she both loved and at which she excelled). Lindsay had made a lot of friends in college, too. But because she and her boyfriend had been together for over two years, Lindsay had gradually begun to distance herself slightly from a lot of them- just the normal falling out of touch that often accompanies a relationship turning serious. However, because of the continued daily interaction of being roommates, she and Cindy had become best friends. Or so Lindsay thought. To find both Michael _and_ Cindy cheating on her was doubly devastating. On Friday, two days after the incident, Lindsay didn't even feel comfortable enough to discuss her trip home with anyone else. She just packed up the stuff from her apartment (to add insult to injury, Cindy had been sleeping at Michael's place, leaving Lindsay there alone) and drove to the airport.

Once back home in Michigan, Lindsay started reaching out for company like a drowning person might grasp at a floating life preserver nearby.

She called Nick Andopolis first. She and Nick had had a pretty intense relationship their entire senior year of high school, and she had lost her virginity to him. But Nick's lack of drive, which Lindsay knew about him all along- it was as inherent a part of Nick as his sweetness was- did strange things to Lindsay once they became an official couple.

Unlike when she first started hanging out with the burnouts, being with Nick romantically had a motivating effect on her- seeing Nick not realize his potential only made Lindsay want to reach hers more decisively. She still hung out with the freaks, and with Nick, but surprisingly she started studying harder than ever to improve her own grades. That seemed to prompt a discussion with Mr. Rosso, who told Lindsay that she could basically attend almost any college she chose (a killer SAT score with a perfect score on the math section didn't hurt). A little torn, Lindsay began the application process.

It wasn't until the University of Chicago offered her a merit-based scholarship that Lindsay realized that by reaching her potential she was simultaneously driving a wedge between her and Nick. Not that he didn't support her- he did, wholeheartedly- but somehow her motivation seemed to make him slack off even more. Lindsay suspected it was because he probably felt that he couldn't live up to what he thought her standards were and therefore just stopped trying. Knowing that they would be apart for so long while pursuing completely different life paths didn't do much for their relationship. So after graduation they said goodbye as Nick headed for Texas to join the army and Lindsay left for college. Any romance that hadn't already fizzled out by that point didn't have much of a shot at surviving the distance. She had barely heard from Nick since. When his father answered the phone, he said that Nick was still stationed in Fort Worth.

Lindsay also called Daniel Desario- she knew that he was still living at his parents' place. He had long since broken up with Kim, and Lindsay didn't feel particularly loyal to Kim either- they no longer spoke. She had heard that Kim had turned to drugs, which didn't really surprise her given her upbringing, but Lindsay was trying to steer clear of that kind of influence- she'd grown past the stage of wanting to hang out with rebellious people to change her image. Daniel himself answered the phone and was nice enough, but when Lindsay hinted around at hanging out in person, he suddenly became abrupt and apparently happy to tell her that he was seriously involved with someone- Karen Scarfolli. If Lindsay hadn't felt a little rejected, she would have laughed.

Lindsay was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on the bathroom door.

"Honey, are you all right?" her mom asked her, in her most concerned mom-like voice.

Lindsay sniffled, wiping the remnants of the running mascara off of her face and throwing her cotton ball in the trash. She walked to the door and unlocked it (why she locked it initially she wasn't really sure), before opening it and replying, "Yes, mom."

Lindsay's mom looked even more concerned than she sounded. She pulled Lindsay in for a hug. "Honey, I'm so sorry. That Michael doesn't know what he's missing."

Lindsay tried in vain to not roll her eyes (and she almost started crying again). She wasn't in the mood for her mom's little pep talk. They'd done enough of that the last two days. She pulled away, went to protest. "Mom-,"

Lindsay's mom raised a hand, gently cutting her off. "Look, honey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. Listen, I didn't mention this yesterday, because- well, um, you seemed too upset to go out when we brought you home from the airport, but this evening your father and I are attending the Schweiber party. How about coming with us?"

Lindsay shrugged, despondent. Schmoozing people she barely knew at the home of her dentist was hardly an ideal way for her to want to pass an evening. Unless…. if by the slimmest chance…..

It was then that her mother said the magic words.

Mrs. Weir added, a little slyly with just the hint of a grin, "Mrs. Schweiber said that Barry is in town; he's going to be there this year. Alone."

Ah, Barry. The _other_ guy that Lindsay wanted to call when she came back to Chippewa. Except that she didn't, because she figured that he was in Ann Arbor, where he attended law school. And because the last time she had spoken with him he had been with somebody else.

This seemed like a rare coincidence. What were the chances that the Schweiber party would be going on this night of all nights, the evening after Lindsay got home after the worst week in a long time? But thinking about it a little further, Schweiber party history did dictate that the festivities would occur right around this time of year- she just hadn't noticed because she hadn't been a regular attendee.

This was mostly because Lindsay and Barry had never managed to re-create the perfect encounter that they had during the event so long ago where they last kissed- the timing was just never right. The next year, though Lindsay already knew that she would be leaving Michigan for college, she was still in a tepid relationship with Nick, so she didn't go. The year after that, she was a college freshman and single, but she had heard through the grapevine once she arrived that Barry had met a girl in school and that they were pretty serious, so he didn't bother to make it home to attend. A similar thing had happened the following year, disappointing Lindsay for the second year in a row. The next year she had been with Michael and stayed in Chicago.

Even though she hadn't been back to any Schweiber parties since her freshman year, she did see Barry one other time anyway. Their families were together when Neal and Sam graduated McKinley, so she briefly had chatted with him while they sat during the ceremony on the bleachers. At the time, she was casually dating Michael, though it wasn't anything serious yet so he wasn't in attendance. Apparently Barry was still with his girlfriend, too, though from what he described to Lindsay that night things weren't going so well- they were having trouble mastering their long-distance relationship since he left Wisconsin for law school while she had stayed. Lindsay and Barry had flirted a bit, like they always do, but neither one of them was in much of a position to act on it. Though she had been tempted to call him earlier, she also didn't want to presume that he had broken things off with his girlfriend. _Or maybe I just didn't want to hope that he did_ , she thought.

Lindsay often wondered about Barry, and even went so far as to briefly question her decision to go to the University of Chicago. If she had attended The University of Wisconsin instead, things might have been totally different between them. But with their age difference, they would have only had a year together before they would have found themselves at another crossroads. Who knew if Barry would have been willing to stick around just to date her, particularly if his career took him elsewhere? Besides, the University of Chicago had one of the best math programs in the country, and their scholarship offer was just too good to pass up- she couldn't sacrifice all of that just for a guy. So she didn't regret her decisions, exactly. Still, that didn't mean that she didn't sometimes wonder what might have been.

 _What might have been._ She wondered if she would wonder the same thing tonight if she chose to stay home from the Schweiber party.

"Okay, I'll go," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A couple of hours later, Lindsay was in the bathroom again, only this time she was looking in the mirror putting makeup on, not crying it off.

As she stood there, she thought of her ex-best friend, Cindy. They used to do this thing all the time- it wasn't a game exactly, more like an exercise….every time one of them was about to make a decision that the other one thought was questionable, they would ask each other, in the nicest way possible, "So what are you hoping to accomplish by doing this?" It was a really good thing to keep in the back of her mind, because it got Lindsay questioning her motives and made her realize just how many of her decisions were based on how she was feeling in the moment, not what was ultimately best for her.

Even though she wasn't with Cindy now, and was furious with her (she couldn't decide yet if she hated her; the incident was too fresh in her mind), she pictured Cindy there asking her what she was hoping to accomplish by going to the Schweiber party. It forced Lindsay to be completely truthful with herself.

 _I want to have fun, to take my mind off of Michael and my misery, for the first time in the last several days._ That was fair enough- but she knew there was more to it than that.

 _I want to see Barry and catch up with him._ This was true also- they hadn't seen each other or spoken for over a year and a half- but Lindsay needed to dig deeper.

 _After just being cheated on, I just need to feel sexy and attractive for a few hours._ This was more like it. If Lindsay was being honest, that was why she chose to call Nick and Daniel of all people when she got home- they were two guys she shared at the very least flirtations with. She could have called Ken or Millie, but hadn't (though she knew that Millie had gone to California for school and wouldn't likely be home anyway) because they never would have made her feel that way.

And hanging out with Barry _always_ made her feel attractive. Even when he was with his girlfriend, or she was with Michael, she always got at least a brief once-over from him with an accompanying 'you look great'. She could always tell he was holding back, too- so maybe now that she was single she would get an even higher appraisal.

 _…and now that I finally have the opportunity, I'd really like to kiss Barry again._ Ding Ding Ding!

Lindsay couldn't deny it- the kiss they shared at the last Schweiber party was amazing, and she had thought about it a ridiculous number of times since. Yeah, this last realization certainly wasn't anything revolutionary- she'd had a crush on Barry for a long time, and it didn't just disappear because they'd both dated other people or because they didn't see each other very often. They'd both changed over the years, but not so much that she wouldn't still be drawn to him. In fact, it was the opposite- at Sam's graduation, she couldn't believe how much better Barry looked than she had remembered.

After thinking it over a little more, Lindsay decided that she didn't care that her motives weren't entirely pure or platonic. There wasn't anything wrong with wanting to feel sexy, she was now single, and with the way her mom spoke it sounded like Barry was single, too. They were both consenting adults, so if they happened to flirt and kiss, that would be okay, wouldn't it?

With that, Lindsay decided to dress the part. Since high school her taste in clothing had matured a bit. Lindsay had slipped out of her bathrobe and into a short black skirt with a little slit up the side, black leggings (because it was March in Michigan, after all), and a soft burgundy button-down sweater that hugged her every curve. She had definitely filled out a bit in the last couple of years - her breasts were bigger and her hips had widened just a bit- and her tighter-than-she-usually-wore sweater accentuated both perfectly. She unbuttoned her top button to reveal just a hint of the cleavage that she never quite possessed in high school.

Gone were the days of her green army jacket- Cindy had convinced Lindsay to stow it in the back of her closet the first week of school, where it stayed ever since- Lindsay hadn't even bothered to bring it home with her. She did have, however, the next best thing, her new every-day wear- her shit-kicker black boots. Somehow, they were just dressy enough to wear with her skirt, yet casual enough to give her a bit of an edge.

Lindsay examined herself in the mirror. She looked good. She had kept pretty much the same hairstyle, but it was nicely blown dry and styled. She started wearing a little more makeup in college, and to go with her outfit, and her mood, she had given herself smoky eyelids, long black lashes, and shimmery wine-red lipcolor, matching her sweater. Her body looked slammin'- Lindsay had no issues keeping herself in shape in school- she walked everywhere at a brisk pace, and with her apartment's location relative to her classes, it was several miles a day. Michael had gotten her into running a bit, too.

 _Michael_. Only one thing was wrong with her appearance- she was still wearing the gold necklace that Michael had given her the previous Christmas. She had gotten so used to keeping it on constantly that she didn't even notice it until now. It was at that moment that Lindsay realized she hadn't noticed because she hadn't actually wanted to look at herself in the mirror since Wednesday; she had been so depressed that she avoided seeing herself altogether. _It was a good thing that I decided to go tonight_ , Lindsay thought to herself as she firmly yanked at the chain on her neck, breaking it. She set the broken necklace on the counter. _Gives me something to look forward to, something to dress up for._ With one last glance at her reflection, Lindsay spun around to head downstairs to wait for her parents and Sam.

Lindsay smiled to herself as she watched her parents hem and haw about getting ready for the party. Even if they didn't want to admit it, from past experience she knew that they'd have a fantastic time. Sam was coming, too- he was a sophomore at Michigan State at home for spring break as well- and he was excited to see Neal, who had ended up at U of M like his brother (no coincidence, Lindsay was convinced- Neal worshipped him).

The four of them piled into her dad's car and drove over to the Schweiber's. On the way there, Lindsay told her family flat-out that one of them had better stay sober enough to drive home. With this being her first Schweiber party where she was of legal drinking age, and given her circumstances, she planned to take full advantage of the open bar. Though her parents might normally have given her a hard time about it, tonight they didn't utter a word of protest.

Getting out of the car, Lindsay tightened her long black coat- it was _freezing_. She had gotten used to these winters, yet somehow they didn't become any easier. Walking up to the Schweibers' house, she couldn't help but feel the butterflies in her stomach all take flight at once and adrenaline surge through her body. _Will tonight be anything like I'm anticipating?_ She thought to herself. She tried in vain not to get her hopes up.

Dr. Schweiber answered the door, and he smiled at them warmly, greeting them and telling them to come in. Lindsay smiled back, though she wondered if he was still up to his womanizing, his running around. She had occasionally asked her parents whether there was any gossip to report in regards to the Schweiber family, but her parents always said the same thing- things seemed normal, they hadn't changed. She wasn't even paying attention when Dr. Schweiber shouted, "Hey, Neal! Come and get the Weirs' coats, would you?"

But seeing Neal a minute later pulled Lindsay back into reality. He had really grown up in the last year and a half- he had shot up another few inches and definitely had put on a little weight, in the form of both bigger muscles and a bit of what Lindsay could only assume was a beer belly. Neal was wearing a Alpha Epsilon Phi sweatshirt, so unlike his brother, Lindsay guessed he had to have felt differently about joining a fraternity. She smiled at him. "Hey, Neal," she said warmly.

Neal was looking at her in return like she was a goddess; he couldn't even keep his mouth closed. "H- h-hey, Lindsay," he stuttered.

Lindsay was still smiling. _Feel sexy and attractive_ , _check_. She didn't even need to find Barry to accomplish that. She didn't return Neal's feelings, but that didn't mean that it wasn't flattering. Tonight was getting off to a great start. "I'm going to get a drink, I'll talk to you soon," she said sweetly. Still blatantly staring at her, Neal took her coat along with Sam's and her parents', and tried to head upstairs without taking his eyes off her. Instead, he tripped on a step and fell upward, hitting his knees and elbows on the stairs as their coats flung forward. Lindsay stifled a giggle but quickly recovered, giving Neal an extra smile before she turned around.

Lindsay made her way to the bar. She debated on whether she should drink beer, wine, or something stronger- the Schweibers' had provided a slew of liquor bottles, mixers, and garnishes. Finally, she went to her standby- cranberry juice and vodka with a lime- but only used a shot of vodka and further diluted her drink with some seltzer water. She was ready to let loose and lower her inhibitions, but it was early and she wanted to keep her wits about her, too. Spinning around with her drink, Lindsay found herself face-to-face with Barry standing right in front of her, inches away.

He looked sexy as hell. His hair looked great, his face was shaven but had the hint of a five o'clock shadow, and he was dressed well in a collared shirt, gray sweater, and slacks. In a way, he _looked_ a bit like a lawyer, though one glance at his smile told her that he wasn't pretentious or stuck-up like the stereotype might imply. Lindsay could tell by looking at him that he seemed to have abandoned his college habits- his beer gut had vanished and he looked like he had put on some muscle- maybe he and Neal were going to the gym together or something. She remembered thinking how good he looked at Neal's graduation, but compared to how he looked now- it didn't even compare. He _smelled_ amazing, too- they were standing close enough that she could catch a whiff of his aftershave, and the scent of it was absolutely intoxicating- she fought to breathe normally. She was getting a little dizzy.

She gulped. "Hi," she said nervously, taking a sip of her drink through the dark plastic straw.

Like Neal, Barry seemed so shocked to see her that he didn't even fully close his mouth. His eyes raked down her body. Though they might not have lingered on her chest or legs, they didn't skip them, either. After a moment, he traced his eyes back upward so that eventually he was looking at her face, in her eyes. When he finally spoke, his already raspy voice sounded even more uneven.

"Damn, Lindsay," he said, shaking his head just slightly. "You look- um- wow," he eventually said. Taking a couple of moments to gather himself, he tried again. "You look- fucking gorgeous," he said. Upon realizing his choice of words, he briefly slapped a hand over his mouth before removing it and smiling sheepishly at her. "I'm sorry. I mean- it's just- you're so hot. Incredible," he finished a little gruffly, before stuffing his hands into his pockets. There was a flush to his cheeks that hadn't been there just moments ago.

Lindsay blushed a little, too. Despite what she was wearing tonight, she wasn't really used to this kind of attention, or flattery. "Thanks," she said, unnerved and off-guard and jittery. But inside, she was beaming. This felt so good. His response was way better than the expected 'you look great'. It made the couple of hours she spent in front of the mirror this evening totally worth it. "You- um, you do, too," she added sincerely. She was too nervous to say much else.

Lindsay realized just then that she was going to have to modify what she was hoping to accomplish tonight, since ten minutes into the party, she had already achieved a lot of what she set out to do. And because right now she wanted to do a hell of a lot more with Barry than just kiss him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Barry and Lindsay stared at each other nervously for a minute before Barry finally broke the silence.

Taking a hand out of one of his pockets, he gestured back towards the bar. "I'm going to go grab that drink that I guess I forgot about," he said, smiling at her. Somehow they had managed to step off to the side and Barry had lost his place in line. He added, "Can I get you another of what you're having? Or anything else?"

Lindsay glanced down at her own drink. Since drinking was something she often did because she wanted to relax, the exciting-yet-tense introduction to Barry had prompted her to try and accelerate the process. Her glass was half-empty, and the alcohol had already begun to work its way into Lindsay's system. She was slowly starting to loosen up, and could feel the flush of heat that always accompanied her drinking begin to expand from her face to her chest. Though a lot of that was circumstantial- Lindsay hoped that she might be kissing Barry later on tonight, and just the thought of it was probably making her body feel a degree or two hotter than normal.

To that end, Lindsay realized that she should probably lay off the booze. If she drank too much too fast, she'd be a wreck by the end of the night. She definitely didn't want to let alcohol intoxication spoil anything between her and Barry.

"Maybe in a minute," she smiled. "I think I'd like to get something to eat first."

"Good idea," he agreed. "Give me a second and I'll join you." He hopped back in line to get a drink while Lindsay waited. He returned to her side a minute later holding a bottle of domestic beer.

"Let's head over there," he winked at her and gestured towards a corner of the living room near the kitchen. "It's the best spot to catch the wait staff." The Schweiber party had grown in size every year, so accordingly this year they had actually hired a caterer. Lindsay had spotted two waitresses balancing delicious-looking hors d'oeuvres on their trays as they brought the food in and out the kitchen, presumably where Barry was pointing. Barry grabbed her hand, and Lindsay's entire body tingled with excitement at the contact.

When they reached the spot of the living room, Barry gently let go of her hand, and Lindsay felt a twinge of disappointment. But it was quickly replaced with hunger as Lindsay realized that Barry was precisely right- delectable appetizers were already making their way towards them.

Lindsay and Barry each accepted several hors d'oeuvres, with Barry making several wisecracks about their close proximity to the food-service, and for a while he and Lindsay laughed and ate and drank and made small talk. Fifteen minutes later, she'd devoured half-a-dozen pigs in blankets, several bacon-wrapped scallops, and a ton of veggies and cheese cubes. Barry indulged, too- when Lindsay looked at him questioningly for consuming pork, he just shrugged.

Just then, apparently Barry saw someone he wanted to hide from and quickly grabbed Lindsay by the arms, pulling her closer and spinning them both around until they were each facing the opposite direction. Barry's warm touch on her arms and close proximity of his body to hers was almost too much for Lindsay to handle; the encounter and the alcohol and now the contact had really started jacking up Lindsay's libido. Thankfully, Barry interrupted Lindsay's rapidly wandering mind.

"Thanks for letting me do that; I think that's Melvin Latz over there behind my right shoulder," Barry explained with a smile. "I'm trying to use you as a shield; I'll bet you if he sees me he'll come over and ask me about which subspecialty of law I'd like to practice. I'm just not in the mindset to discuss it with him tonight. I might snap again."

Lindsay looked at him with a raised eyebrow. She didn't even have to say it.

"Oh, so now _you_ want to know which subspecialty of the law I'd like to practice?" he asked her teasingly.

"No, not if you're going to snap again," she replied, smiling. _This is all too reminiscent of the last Schweiber party_ , Lindsay thought fondly. _I wonder if it will end the same way, too_.

"Actually," Barry said, and his smile quickly turned neutral while his eyes went a bit overcast, "I'm thinking about becoming a divorce lawyer."

That sobered Lindsay up a bit. "That sounds a little depressing. Why?" she asked, him, though part of her already suspected at least a hint of the answer.

Barry shrugged and lowered his voice. "I don't know. My ex's parents got divorced a while back. The girl we talked about the last time I saw you, Janet? We broke up over a year ago. But being with her while she was going through it got me thinking about it a lot."

Lindsay nodded and tried to look sympathetic, murmuring her apologies about his breakup. She wasn't sure that she was convincing- truth be told, she was thrilled that Barry was single again.

Barry continued. "But mostly because of my parents, I guess. I would have thought they'd divorced by now, now that Neal's finally out of the house. Anyway, sometimes I just- and a few years ago I would _never_ have said this- but now sometimes I just think it would have been easier on everyone if they _had_ just gotten divorced. All the crap that my dad has done has really taken its toll on my mom in the last couple of years. And hearing the law perspective on it really got me looking back and thinking how it might have made things a lot easier on Neal and me, too. I came to the realization that it would make me feel better if I could help other kids so that they wouldn't have to see the all the crappy stuff their parents do to each other when they're out of love but still living under the same roof. Maybe there _are_ worse things than your parents being divorced."

Lindsay nodded. She was glad that Barry felt like he could open up to her, though his confession had changed the mood of the evening substantially. "Barry, I'm so sorry," she said gently touching his shoulder with her hand.

He brightened at her touch. "It's okay," he replied. "Neal had it way worse than me, I think- I was older when I found out, and I've been out of the house for a while now. But anyway," he lightened his tone in an attempt to lighten the subject matter too, "How about you? How's school going? Do you know what you're going to do next year?"

Lindsay thought about those questions for a moment. They all seemed innocent enough- but a lot had changed this week. The truth was that she now had no idea.

Quite honestly, the whole time that she had dated Michael, she had never really known if he was the _one_. But _Michael_ certainly seemed to think that he was. He talked about their future often, of his intention to work as a journalist and his willingness to move wherever Lindsay got a job. She had initially thought she wanted to go to graduate school, but she'd dragged her feet during the application process so she'd missed all of the prime interviews. That was okay, she had rationalized to herself- her grades were excellent, and she wouldn't mind getting some real-world experience before going back to school- which she felt confident that she would do down the road. She began scoping out jobs. While she might not have been willing to move _for_ Michael, if he was willing to follow her, she figured she could at least apply to some interesting job prospects in the northeast. It was where a lot of the opportunity was, but in addition Michael was from New York City and would have loved to move home- so up to this point Lindsay had primarily focused her job search in New York and its surrounding areas. Now that all _this_ had happened, though- she supposed she needed to look somewhere else, start over. And the thought of that was both depressing and overwhelming.

"Lindsay?" Barry asked her gently. Clearly she had zoned out and he was attempting to bring her back to Earth.

"Oh- I'm sorry," she muttered, suddenly fraught with sadness. She couldn't think of anything to say but the truth. "I- um- I have no idea." But she faked a smile anyway.

Barry saw right through it. "Lindsay, what's wrong?" Barry asked her softly, perceptive as always. He slowly reached his hand up to gently touch her jaw line. That was all it took for Lindsay's façade to come crumbling down. Involuntarily, her eyes welled up with tears and she broke down crying for what felt like the millionth time lately.

"Barry, I'm so sorry," she blubbered, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "It's just- I mean- Michael cheated on me, this- this week with m-my roommate- and I broke up with him and that's why I'm, I'm- home, and-"

"Sssshhhh, ssshhhhh," Barry told her gently, a pained expression apparent on his face. He suddenly took Lindsay into his arms, engulfing her in a friendly hug. "Don't be sorry. Cry all that you want. I'm planning to change my shirt soon anyway," he teased her gently, referring to the fact that she was slobbering and snotting all over it. In response, Lindsay only cried harder.

"Sssssh, sssshhhhhh, I'm sorry, that was a bad joke," he apologized, arms running up and down the length of her back. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you. You don't deserve it," he told her fiercely, changing tone. After a few more seconds, he pulled away slightly, and Lindsay could see that his face had darkened. It was pretty obvious how angry he was. Seething, he added, "That guy is obviously a complete jerk. And if I saw him right now…." Barry let the start of his threat linger in the air for a few moments. "Anyway," he said seconds later, softening his voice and pulling her close to him again, "You deserve _so_ much better."

 _Like you_ , Lindsay thought involuntarily. Being held against him like this felt so _good_. And the delicious smell of his aftershave was more potent than ever. For some crazy reason even though she had just been talking about Michael all she wanted to do was kiss Barry at the base of his neck which was a mere millimeter or two away from her lips. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to.

They held each other for a long time, until Lindsay's sobbing had turned into heavy breathing and then finally into a peaceful silence. Barry gently stroked the base of her hair, and even though the touch of his fingertips to her scalp was supposed to be soothing, somehow Lindsay found herself far more turned on than the situation had intended. Embarrassed, she pulled away.

"I'm getting tired of being miserable right now, but I'll be okay. Thanks," she said ruefully, giving him a little smile, dabbing at her eyes. "I appreciate it."

"Whatever you need, Lindsay," he replied sincerely. "Anytime."

Pulling herself together, Lindsay straightened her sweater and carefully wiped at the tears that had begun to dry on her cheeks. Her eye makeup was probably a mess right now. She needed to get to a bathroom. Noticing that Barry's beer bottle was empty, she asked him if he was heading back to the bar.

"Yep, I think after the last few minutes, another alcoholic beverage is in order," he replied, managing a grin. "How about you?"

"Oh, yeah," she said decisively. "I'll take another cranberry and vodka with a lime if you're offering."

"Sure thing," he said. A few minutes later when she had returned from the restroom (her makeup situation wasn't nearly as dire as she predicted, so it didn't take long to fix herself up), Barry stood in the same spot where she had left him, holding in one hand another beer for himself and in the other her signature girly drink.

"All right, Weir, while I'll _always_ be a shoulder for you to cry on," he began matter-of-factly, offering her the glass, "I'd say the goal for the rest of this evening, for both of us, should be to have a little fun. Whaddya think?"

"Definitely," she agreed, accepting the beverage.

"To having fun tonight?" he asked, raising his drink to hers.

Lindsay couldn't agree more. "To having fun tonight," she echoed. She wondered what Barry's idea of fun was. The thought of what constituted her idea of 'fun' made her blush a little. They clinked glasses and she took a hearty sip of her drink.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Barry wanted to have fun, all right- and while it wasn't yet the kind Lindsay had ultimately been hoping for, it didn't matter- she was still having a great time.

Barry had always been a smartass and a bit of a prankster, and his eyes twinkled when he suggested to Lindsay a few ridiculous ways that the two of them could mess with the other partygoers. He rationalized it to her by saying it wasn't as though they'd be making fun of the guests using a ventriloquist dummy like his brother did half a decade ago. Neal had sounded almost deranged that night- but it was a minor footnote to an otherwise spectacular evening. Lindsay smiled at the memory, shrugged her shoulders, and said that whatever Barry was planning sounded fine with her.

First, Barry decided to go to Melvin Latz directly instead of waiting for the prying older gentleman's inevitable approach with nosy questions regarding his future. However, there was a twist- Barry's self-imposed challenge was to incorporate as many dentistry terms into the dialogue as he could think of, just to mess with him. Lindsay stood by his side as a counter and a witness and attempted not to burst out laughing as Barry rattled them off.

"Well, yes, I'd like to think that there was a _cavity_ that was once in my soul," Barry began passionately in response to Dr. Latz's first question, which was indeed about the subspecialties of law Barry that was considering, "And that tort law has been _filling_ it up." Barry managed to keep a serious expression though next to him Lindsay was unsuccessfully cracking up, forcing herself to cover her mouth and fake a cough instead. "It's been a great _amalgam_ of civil and criminal law," he continued. "And while I know I'll have to _brace_ myself for a lot of hard work, I plan to charge a high _retainer_."

Melvin Latz's expression was absolutely priceless- he had a look of utter confusion, though he was smiling at Barry at the same time in an attempt to cover it up and pretend like it was a normal interaction. Lindsay stifled more laughter and pretended to have a coughing fit, which prompted Barry to tug on Lindsay's shoulder and excuse them both, leaving the dentist befuddled and therefore temporarily unable to ask any more probing questions.

"How'd I do?" Barry asked as soon as they were out of earshot, his hand moving to Lindsay's back. It seemed like he couldn't tell if she was still coughing and had his hand ready in case, but it was now full-on laughter escaping Lindsay's lips. Barry's fingertips lingered a moment, which sent shivers down Lindsay's spine.

"Great," she replied, grinning. "I counted eight- three in the intro and five in the answer to his question, in-," she looked at her watch, "Thirty-five seconds."

"All right, not bad," he agreed. "Your turn. What are you going to do?"

Lindsay racked her brain to come up with something. After a few seconds, an idea occurred to her. If she hadn't already been slightly tipsy, she would have immediately dismissed it, but as it stood, the drink and a half she had consumed had lowered her inhibitions just enough. "Okay, this next one is for your brother," she began. _And kinda for me, I guess_ , she thought to herself, _since it would be a huge ego boost, which is part of the reason that I came here_. "I already told Neal hello once, looking like this," she gestured to her outfit as it currently was, "And I got a pretty good reaction- he tripped up the stairs looking at me. So let's say I say hi to him two more times and observe his response. For the first, I'll button this one," she gestured to the single unbuttoned button on her sweater, "And for the other," she clasped the edge of her sweater at the neckline just next to the second button, preparing to pull on it, "I'll _un_ -b-"

"Wait," Barry protested, quickly shooting a hand out to clasp his fingers gently, yet firmly, around Lindsay's wrist, the wrist that was just about to unbutton her shirt even further. A bit alarmed, Lindsay made eye contact with him, but in doing so she paused, and as soon as Barry realized that she wasn't going to move forward with her idea he gradually loosened his grip. "I'm sorry. But- don't do that," he said. "Look, I can tell you right now that there's no way my brother would be able to handle you showing any more of your chest," he explained. "And besides, um-," he was blushing now, "I don't want him seeing it anyway. So please don't?"

 _Well, now wasn't_ that _interesting_ , Lindsay thought. While she normally might have left it at that, contemplating his objection in silence, the alcohol in the bloodstream supplying her normally over-analytical brain caused her to press further.

"Why not?" Lindsay asked him teasingly, giving him her sexiest pout. The last thing she wanted was to sound too accusatory. She hoped Barry didn't want her undressing a bit for Neal for the same reason that she was thinking. _Say, it, Barry,_ Lindsay pleaded to herself _, say 'I only want you to unbutton your sweater for_ me _, Lindsay'_.

"Why don't _you_ think?" Barry countered softly instead, raising an eyebrow and turning the question back around on her for the moment. He was good.

Now, what to say in response? Lindsay wondered if maybe it was too early to push the issue. She was ready to get Barry somewhere private and start shedding her clothes for him immediately, but she was really hoping _Barry_ would be the one to initiate it, which in her mind started with a flirtatious yet honest answer to her question, not a deflection.

Yet- Lindsay wondered how much their history and age difference might have been a factor in Barry's response. Perhaps she needed to give Barry a not-so subtle reminder that she was twenty-two, not seventeen like the last time they had kissed.

Lindsay eventually just shrugged. "Don't know," she replied, adding teasingly, "Maybe you're trying to protect your naïve and innocent younger brother from an older and more experienced woman." Barry good-naturedly snorted at that one, though Lindsay couldn't tell if his reaction was to the fact that she referred to herself as older and more experienced or Neal as naïve and innocent.

Lindsay suddenly decided, in her now slightly less inhibited-than-normal state, that this was the perfect time to go for it. Someone needed to get the ball rolling. "Or maybe-" she added, giving Barry a classic 'come here' motion with her finger. Barry leaned in, cocking his head so that his ear was inches from her lips. Dropping her voice to a whisper, grabbing the collar of his shirt, Lindsay added, "Or maybe you're just hoping for your own private show later." With that, she winked at him and gave him a coy little smile. Her smile grew wider when she caught the expression on Barry's face when she pulled back- dumbfounded with distinct red spots forming on his cheeks. He had definitely gotten the hint. Looking completely flustered, Barry changed the subject and told her, stumbling over his words and stuttering, that he had to go to the bathroom and would be right back. Lindsay wasn't insulted. Barry still looked entirely too shocked to respond to her appropriately.

 _Good_ , she thought to herself _. Let him think about it for a little bit_. She was amazed at how much she had managed to throw him off-guard, how much her little come-on had _affected_ him. His reaction, though not a 'yes, let's go somewhere alone so you can do it now', was still pretty awesome. It made her feel powerful.

But when Barry returned a short while later, he appeared to have gotten himself together a little bit, and instead asked Lindsay nervously if she was ready to continue their game of 'let's see who can one-up the other in messing with the minds of these boring old people'. Lindsay was a little disappointed but tried to shrug it off as they carried out some more of Barry's hilarious schemes.

Lindsay observed as Barry struck up a conversation with one of his mother's friends from their Temple. Mrs. Blumenkrantz's adoration of Barry quickly turned to shock and disdain the moment he nonchalantly popped a bacon-wrapped scallop into his mouth. Lindsay had to hold back her laughter because Barry had predicted just moments before precisely the look that Mrs. Blumenkrantz would give him. Lindsay then gave her parents a subtle sobriety test, asking them some standard questions (Are you guys having fun tonight? Are you enjoying the champagne?) before Barry jumped into the conversation with the ultimate prognosticator of Harold Weir's blood alcohol level- a dentist joke ("At what time of day do most people go to the dentist?" Barry asked them with a grin, before delivering the punchline, "Tooth-hurty"). Based on how much her mom slurred her speech when she responded to Lindsay's questions and how much her dad laughed at Barry's joke, Lindsay realized that her parents, while hilarious, were failing their sobriety test miserably- so she needed to make sure Sam was limiting his drinking since he was now the _de facto_ designated driver. A quick glance in Sam's direction was all it took- Sam made eye contact with her and exasperatedly rolled his eyes towards their parents. He was drinking a Coke and was obviously stone-cold sober, though not at all happy about it.

Just when Lindsay started to worry that Barry would never get his fill of entertainment at the other guests' expense, Barry asked her if she wanted to talk as he gestured to a quieter corner of the living room (away from the kitchen this time) where the seats hadn't already been taken. Anxious to be in semi-privacy, Lindsay agreed right away. When Barry gently placed his hand on her lower back as he followed her, she shivered. But he only held it there a moment before pulling it away again.

They got settled, sitting next to one other on Barry's living room couch. In the last hour of playing tricks on guests at the party, it was easier to forget that she sort of came on to him, but now that they were a little bit isolated, she could feel that things had shifted, that there was more tension in the air. Barry looked distinctly uncomfortable. But Lindsay had finished her second vodka/cranberry and started a third and after two and a half drinks she was feeling _perfect_. She didn't know why Barry looked so awkward since her comment to him but she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She knew it wasn't that he didn't like what she said, but she couldn't figure out what else it could be.

When Barry started rambling about the law firm where he planned to work starting this summer, Lindsay was only half-listening. She just couldn't figure out his reaction to her 'private show' comment- so with alcohol on her side, she figured that maybe she needed to make her point a little more clearly, observe his reaction again. So she decided to do something else to get his attention. Inching closer to him, pretending to be intent on what he was saying, she tentatively put her hand on Barry's thigh.

Barry stopped midsentence and immediately shifted slightly, looking more uncomfortable than ever. His breathing got noticeably heavier and it was several seconds before he spoke again. His voice came out in a tense whisper. "Lindsay, you are making it _really_ hard for me here," he said eventually.

For a second, she thought Barry was talking dirty to her and she clasped her hand over her mouth- but then she quickly realized that wasn't it at all. She coughed instead to cover up her initial shocked hand-slap, and then after a moment, asked, "Hard for you how?"

Barry cleared his throat before looking her in the eye. "Hard to be a good guy," he said matter-of-factly. "Look, I keep thinking about the last party my parents had where we were both single, where we kissed. As _soon_ as I saw you tonight, I knew I wanted it to happen again. But then-" Barry fidgeted, looked down again, putting his hand on top of hers, clasping her fingers underneath his, "then- you told me everything that you've been through this week. And- it's not right, you know? You're miserable, and drinking. I shouldn't take advantage of that- I shouldn't take advantage of _you_ ," he admonished himself, shaking his head which was still bowed in shame. "But then when you say stuff- or- or touch me like that, I-,"at a loss for words, Barry simply lifted Lindsay's hand with his and put it back onto her leg before pulling his own hand away.

 _Aahhh._ Now _it made sense_ , Lindsay thought. This was easy to clarify. "Look at me," Lindsay said sternly. He didn't budge, so she repeated herself. "Barry, look at me."

Barry obliged and met her eyes. He looked- almost _scared_.

Lindsay softened. "I'm all grown up now," she said quietly. "Don't I look grown up?"

Barry looked her up and down, appraising her for a few moments before finally giving her a half-grin. "Yeah. You look grown-up."

"And since I'm grown up, I can make my own decisions. And one of the decisions I made was to come to this party tonight. Do you know why?" Barry shook his head and shrugged in response.

She continued. "Well, to be honest, after one of the worst weeks of my life, I wanted to come here because I knew if I could see you I would feel better. My ego took a real hit this week- and, I dunno, for some reason when I'm with you, you just always make me feel- ," she hesitated, shrugging her shoulders, before continuing with a barrage of words, "Good. Pretty. Even- hot. And, um, sexy. And I um- I really needed that tonight. More than you'll know."

A look of understanding washed over Barry. It had a noticeable effect on him- his shoulders and mouth visibly relaxed, the tense look vanished from his face. And suddenly- the awkwardness and nervousness just seemed to melt away from him. And what was left- was _heat_. The look that was suddenly in Barry's eyes was scorching.

This time, Barry gave _her_ the come-hither motion with his pointer finger. She leaned closer and she could feel his hot breath in her ear when he whispered, "Lindsay, that's because you _are_ pretty. Beautiful, actually. And you're so much more than that- brilliant, driven, funny. _And_ smokin' hot. And very, _very_ , sexy. And if that ex of yours can't see it, then he's a fucking idiot. But I can see it. I can see _you_. And I love what I see." After a few moments, he added softly, "So, you wanna get out of here? Want to go for a walk?"

The words were music to Lindsay's ears. The first part was _exactly_ what she needed to hear- she knew she was beaming and grinning like an idiot. And yet the second part made her heart flutter and made her dizzy, nervous with anticipation. Based on what happened between them five years ago, she knew precisely what Barry was really asking. If he could get her alone.

She nodded and grinned. "Yeah, okay."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Lindsay and Barry just stared at each other for a moment, grinning stupidly.

But upon the realization that in the last few moments they hadn't actually _moved_ anywhere, Barry seemed to snap out of his reverie.

"Oh, um, great," he said finally. "Can- can I get you your coat?"

This presented a conundrum to Lindsay. On one hand, after their last minute or so of intense eye contact, she didn't want to break it for even a second. She just wanted to get Barry outside and kiss him _now_. All of a sudden, the minute that Barry would spend retrieving her jacket would seem like an eternity.

On the other hand, if he _didn't_ get her coat, and they were indeed going outside, then she would freeze. It didn't matter how hot their lips were, or how searing Barry's hands might feel on her body- if Lindsay didn't have something else covering her arms, they would likely fall off. It was _that_ cold a night.

Having trouble deciding, Lindsay stalled. "Um, where are the coats? Upstairs somewhere?"

Barry hesitated, blushing again. "Yeah. In my bedroom. It's serving as the coat room for the evening."

Well, that settled it. "I think I need my coat," she replied, "but I'm not sure if you'll know which one it is. It's long, black- pretty nondescript. Can I come with you?" _Maybe we won't even need to go outside_ , Lindsay thought.

Barry grabbed her hand, smile a mile wide, before starting to gently weave Lindsay through the crowd. "C'mon."

Lindsay found her heartbeat accelerating as they ascended the stairs and walked down the long hallway towards Barry's room.

When they entered, Lindsay immediately noticed something- it wasn't really Barry's room anymore. Gone were the matchbox cars and Star Trek posters she'd grown accustomed to seeing when at the Schweiber's. She'd hung out with Sam and Neal her fair share of times over the years (mostly when she was much, much younger), and had always gotten a secret thrill from sneaking a glance into the private room of the cute older Schweiber brother.

What she was looking at now looked more like a magazine-worthy guest room, complete with fluffy pillows and matching patterned curtains, breakable porcelain trinkets on mahogany bedside tables.

"Yeah, it doesn't really feel like my room anymore, not since my mom redecorated after I left for school," Barry began wistfully, explaining Lindsay's questioning look without her having to ask. He was gesturing around the room with his free hand, still holding her hand with the other. "Though it does look nicer, I guess."

Lindsay shrugged. She was feeling a little nostalgic, and as beautiful as the room was, it wasn't entirely magazine-worthy at the moment, not with the hundred or so coats strewn all over the bed.

Though looking at the bed made dirty thoughts start to infiltrate Lindsay's mind, and that was fine with her. Thoughts like Barry making a giant sweeping motion to send all the coats crashing to the floor before throwing her down on the mattress; thoughts like them falling onto the bed together without a solitary thought as to _whose_ coats they were messing around on. She tried to push her mini-fantasies out of her mind but found it next to impossible. _Just kiss me already, Barry,_ she thought. But all she said instead was, "Yeah, I guess. I liked it better before, though. It was more you."

Barry didn't reply, he just smiled and looked over at Lindsay as if to agree with her, and their eyes caught one another's'. Suddenly, there was that _heat_ between them again. Lindsay half-wondered if she should be glancing around the bed in a feeble effort to locate her coat, at least playing along with the premise of them coming up to the room together. But she found that she couldn't or didn't want to break her eyes away from Barry's stare.

Lindsay took a little step towards him- they were already standing next to each other, so she didn't have to move far- and angled herself slightly so that they were facing each other more directly _. Kiss me_ , _Barry_ , _kiss me_ , she kept repeating the wish in her mind. The look in Barry's eyes told her that he wanted to make her wish come true, but that something was holding him back. So Lindsay decided just then to try and correct that little something, put herself out there one more time. It had worked for her so far.

"So-," she said, before coughing and clearing her throat. She realized suddenly that her mouth was parched from her nerves and that was no way to start out a kiss, or a sentence for that matter. She coughed but then found herself licking her lips and subtly trying to move her tongue around to moisten them. As she did it, she noticed that Barry began to stare at her mouth, eyes starting to glaze over. She knew that look. Maybe _that_ was all she needed to do- Lindsay hadn't been intentionally trying to turn him on just now, but if she happened to anyway, well, all the better. After another second, Lindsay finished, licking her lips one last time, and added in a hesitant whisper, "So- um, you said that as soon as you saw me you knew you wanted us to kiss ag-"

Lindsay didn't even get to finish her obvious come-on before Barry's lips were on hers and his arms were around her body. He mustn't have shared the same fantasies of pulling her onto the coats because they remained completely upright. But it didn't matter- it was the best kiss Lindsay had experienced in a _very_ long time.

Lindsay hated to make comparisons, but as she had just been kissing Michael less than a week ago, it couldn't really be helped. Michael was an adequate kisser, but it was one of those things that they actually had to _work_ at for a while before it started to feel right. Sure, after three years they had long since gotten the hang of it, but kissing Barry was so different- it felt so _natural_ , like Barry was reading her mind and knew _exactly_ what she wanted in the moment. Lindsay didn't have to work at it at all and instead just relaxed into the kiss, sighing with pleasure. And what was really strange was that in kissing Barry now Lindsay could actually _remember_ their kiss from five years ago, how amazing it felt, why the memory of it had stuck with her for so long.

As the kiss continued, however, it grew from soft and patient to exponentially more intense and frenzied. Barry's arms pulled Lindsay closer and his hands explored her body and his mouth grew wider and his tongue more probing and in a room with a hundred coats all of a sudden Lindsay felt so hot she thought she might spontaneously combust. Barry's arms encircled her waist even tighter and pressed his body against hers so that they were standing flush against one another. She could feel her breasts brush up against his torso, her hips against his groin. The friction from their body contact made the dull ache that Lindsay had already begun to feel in-between her thighs throb with an intensity she hadn't felt in forever. Had Michael ever turned her on this much? She doubted it, but she couldn't remember. Hell, she couldn't even remember her own _name_ right about now. All she knew was that this wasn't enough; she wanted to take things further (though she pretty much knew that the instant that she saw Barry tonight anyway). So much for the mental list of things she'd wanted to accomplish this evening- she'd crossed off all the items but wasn't even close to being satisfied- so she'd have to scrap it and start fresh with a new one.

Unfortunately, they weren't a couple of minutes into their making out when they distinctly heard the voice of Neal Schweiber getting louder as his footsteps approached, indicating that he was about to burst in on them. "You said it was the red blazer, right, Ms. Goldmann?" they could hear Neal shout behind him.

With a whispered curse Barry suddenly broke off the kiss, pulling away. Looking at Barry, Lindsay could assess pretty well what she must have looked like too- messy hair (Barry had seemed to really enjoy running his fingers through hers), dilated pupils, flushed cheeks, smeared makeup, swollen lips, rumpled clothing. She frantically tried to pull herself together, straightening her sweater, flattening the hair at her part with a licked palm, wiping at places where her makeup may have been the most noticeably smudged. But she didn't have time to do much before Neal was in the room, upon them.

"Oh, um, hey," Neal said, surprised. He obviously wasn't expecting to find Lindsay and Barry together in the coat room. But that surprise quickly turned to suspicion as he narrowed his eyes at them. "What are you guys doing in here?"

It was all kind of a game. Neal wasn't stupid, he'd probably figured out what they were up to by what they looked like, but he was clearly trying to get Lindsay or Barry to 'fess up. Given that it was Barry's brother, Lindsay decided to keep her mouth shut for the time being.

"Oh, um, Lindsay's just getting her coat," Barry said, fumbling over the words a bit. So he wasn't going to admit anything directly to Neal. That was okay- Lindsay understood. Given the size of Neal's crush on her, she would have felt awkward admitting it, too. At least it wasn't like the last Schweiber party where Neal had actually caught them in the act. She remembered feeling guilty back then, even though she had no real reason to be.

"Why?" Neal looked almost amused now, like he was just waiting to see what kind of ridiculous lie they would come up with. He reached down and plucked a small red blazer from the pile of coats on the bed.

But Lindsay quickly thought of something to say. "I'm not feeling well," she piped up. "I had a lot to drink. I just need to get some fresh air." She supposed she could have told him the truth- that she just wanted to mess around with his brother- but it would have been utterly mortifying. With that, Lindsay also scanned the coats for her own and after a couple of moments, spotted and grabbed it. She gave Neal a fake smile. "We're just heading down now."

Well, so much for continuing to make out in Barry's room. But it didn't make sense anyway- Neal would be constantly interrupting them. They were now several hours into the Schweiber party and a lot of the guests were older. Logic would follow that Dr. Schweiber would be sending Neal upstairs frequently to fetch the coats of the people who were leaving. When Lindsay met Barry's eyes, he looked profoundly disappointed but just shrugged in lieu of saying anything.

Neal followed Lindsay and Barry down the stairs. They were really stuck now that Neal had gestured that they go first. So Lindsay figured that they might as well actually do what they said they were going to do and go outside. It would be freezing, but at least there would be areas where they would have some privacy.

It seemed that Barry felt the same way. He grabbed his own coat from the hall closet and led Lindsay to the side door of the house- _away_ from where all the partygoers would be leaving. Barry held her hand again and they opened the door to the outside.

Just then, a gust of wind hit them, and Lindsay could feel the shock of it to her bones- it was bitter cold, it had to have been approaching zero degrees. Barry bravely stepped in front to attempt to shield Lindsay from the wind as they took a few steps outside, but she felt it anyway. This was _nothing_ like the walk that they took five years ago. Lindsay's teeth were already starting to chatter.

Barry didn't waste time- he quickly led Lindsay to an area towards the back of their house which was secluded and somewhat protected from the wind. He gave her the spot against the brick wall of the Schweiber house, insulating her from the gusts a bit more, before finally opening his mouth to speak.

He didn't say much. "Upstairs-" he managed to croak out, voice barely discernible over the howling wind. "Um, you were just-" Barry didn't even have to fill in his sentence. Lindsay could tell by the look in his eyes that he was as amazed by their kiss as she was.

With that, Barry leaned in to kiss her again, leaning her up against the brick. Even with her coat, the cold, hard surface sent icy shockwaves through her body. But the simultaneous warmth of Barry's mouth on hers momentarily made up for it.

The heat of Barry's tongue and lips temporarily distracted Lindsay from their environment. Suddenly it was all she could focus on- his hot mouth, moving with hers in wondrous ways. Then his still-warm hands wrapped around her body and she almost cried out, it felt so good. Under her coat, under her sweater, they slipped around her waist and settled on her hips. She oh-so-wanted Barry's hands to do some more exploring, but knew it would be ridiculous to expect for any clothes to be shifted around too much outside.

Despite how good their kissing felt, it didn't take long for Lindsay to realize that they were fighting a losing battle- Michigan winters were just too harsh. Even with the warmth of her mouth and core, after a couple of minutes Lindsay's extremities felt like they were practically frozen. Her shit-kicker boots while protective weren't particularly warm and she hadn't bothered to put on her gloves because she didn't want them to get in the way. She tried to remedy the situation by imitating Barry, by slipping her cold hands up his coat and shirt to feel his bare back. Barry yelped with surprise and pulled away.

"Geez, Lindsay, you're freezing!" he exclaimed with a smile. After a moment, he added, "I'm sorry- I should never have brought you outside. It's just- _all I want to do_ is keep kissing you. But it's hard to think of a place inside where we can be alone during a Schweiber party. We'll find something though- we definitely can't stay out here. C'mon," he said again, grabbing her hand to lead her back inside the house.

Lindsay smiled. She was glad Barry was thinking along the same lines as she was. Of course, kissing him wasn't _all_ she wanted to do. But if they were alone and kissing, he could deal with that later. "All right," she agreed. "You lead the way."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:Warning- Smut to follow. For the next chapter, too (which will be the last one, I think).

Chapter 6:

Lindsay took advantage of the brief time they spent downstairs scoping out the scene of who remained at the Schweiber party. Her parents were animatedly talking to some of Dr. Schweiber's patients, laughing and gesticulating, clearly just as trashed as they were in the years before. Sam was standing and talking and laughing with Neal. For the moment he seemed like he was having a pretty good time after all, despite not drinking. Lindsay hoped that Dr. Schweiber wouldn't keep Neal so busy retrieving coats from Barry's room that Sam would get bored and decide to come looking for them. She also made sure that she was seen by her family- if they saw her now, she figured it would take them longer to wonder where she was when she and Barry disappeared.

Nevertheless, from a glance it looked to Lindsay's eyes that about a quarter of the party had already cleared out and a few more couples were getting ready to leave. Though their family was usually among the later-staying guests, Lindsay was guessing that she and Barry would have another hour or so, tops, before her parents or Sam would try to find her to go home. That wasn't a lot of time. If she wanted to do- well, everything that she wanted to do- with Barry, they were going to have to find someplace to do it pretty quickly. Lindsay lobbed suggestions Barry's way, most of which he quickly vetoed.

"Garage?" Lindsay asked him. She knew Dr. Schweiber's fancy car was parked out there- probably Barry's mom's car, too. They could make themselves comfortable on the seats. If it was too cold they could even turn the car on- she doubted anyone would hear it with the loud music playing.

"Nah," Barry replied. "We have a refrigerator out there where we keep the extra beer. I'm guessing if they haven't already gone out for it they will soon."

Lindsay wanted to argue that they could set the beer _anywhere_ outside and keep it quite frosty, but that was missing the point and wasting time.

"Plus we keep the trash out there, so the catering staff could take more out at any time."

"Oh," she said. "Okay. Um- basement?"

"That's where the wine cellar is- I definitely see a few trips down there being made tonight. Too risky."

"Oh," she said again. "Okay-" in the meantime Barry had started leading her up the stairs again, "Wait, did you just think of something?" she added.

Barry's wicked grin told her that he had. He guided her up the rest of the stairs and down to the very end of the upstairs hallway.

"Your- your _parents'_ room?" she whispered incredulously.

"Yeah, I think that's pretty much our only option. Neal's room is right next to the guest bathroom, which I've seen a bunch of people use tonight- plus I wouldn't put it past Neal to go up there to get away from the party. But my parents are busy entertaining, so they'll be otherwise occupied."

Lindsay's heart was racing. She felt like a young teenager, sneaking around with an older boy to find a place to make out at a crowded party. It gave her such an intense feeling of excitement and anticipation. She was more turned on than she had been in a long time- and she could feel it with every step she took as her legging-ed thighs rubbed together.

Barry slowly opened the door to his parents' room. Dr. and Mrs. Schweiber's king-size bed was immaculately made and looked gorgeous. As Lindsay looked closer, however, she felt a little sad. As aesthetically pleasing as it was to look at- a beautiful wooden four-posted bed frame with an extravagant bedspread featuring an ornate black and gold design- she knew it was hiding a deep, dark, secret. Dr. Schweiber's running around, with Mrs. Schweiber's knowledge, no less, was dysfunctional at best, and made their beautiful bed and bedroom feel like a farce. For whatever reason, Lindsay felt strongly that making out with Barry on this bed would be really bad karma. When Barry sort of presented the horizontal surface to her with an arm-sweep, Lindsay suddenly shook her head vigorously.

Barry's face fell. "Oh, um, do you not want to be up here with me anymore?" He asked hesitantly. It was clear that if that were really the case, it would crush him to hear it.

"No," Lindsay said, shaking her head emphatically, before quickly adding, "I mean- that's not it. It's just-" she wracked her brain to come up with a reasonable explanation for her reaction. The truth of the matter was she couldn't pinpoint exactly what upset her about being with Barry on his parents' bed without confessing an unsettling reality about what she wanted. She hesitated before adding it to her mental list of the things she was hoping to accomplish by being there tonight.

 _I want to start something with Barry that will last longer than this party does. Whatever happens with Barry and I, I don't want it to just be about tonight_ , Lindsay thought. This was precisely why she didn't want to jinx their make-out session by doing it on a bed where a depressed wife laid down with her cheating husband. But she was terrified to admit it, even to herself.

She knew it was bad timing with her just getting out of a relationship, and she wasn't looking to be serious with _anyone_ right away, including Barry. And yet- she'd always been curious about him, frequently thought about him and what could have been, often wondered how things would have gone if they'd actually dated. She just hoped she wasn't risking throwing it all out tonight because of how eager she was to mess around.

Whether or not she was going to have the guts to admit any of this to Barry had yet to be decided.

"Lindsay?" Barry prompted her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right? It's just what?"

Lindsay snapped out of her daydreaming. "Oh, yeah, um, I'm sorry," she said suddenly. "It's just- first of all, I don't want to mess your parents' bed up," while this certainly wasn't the main reason, it was also quite true. "But also,"- she wanted to confess everything to Barry but ultimately chickened out, adding instead, "I'd still feel pretty vulnerable here on the bed. If either of your parents were to open their bedroom door they would see us right away, and we'd be busted without much warning." This was also true- Barry must not have been thinking they would go as far as she did. She hesitated a moment before adding, "How about in there?" she gestured towards the door to his parents' walk-in closet. There. That was better.

Barry grinned. "Anywhere I can kiss you is fine with me." He took her hand again and led her into the small room, pushing the door closed behind them.

The closet was pretty spacious- they could both lie down on the carpet, Lindsay noted immediately. There wasn't much in terms of mood-lighting within the closet, just a string with an incandescent light bulb, but instead of turning it on Barry chose to leave the closet door cracked behind them. A couple of bedside lamps were alit in the Schweiber bedroom, so it wasn't pitch-black where they were, but it was dark enough that they wouldn't be seen at a glance. Lindsay got a pretty sexy vibe from it.

"Is- is this okay?" Barry asked her softly. Lindsay nodded. Being alone in this darkened room with him made her anticipation go into overdrive. Her pulse raced and she trembled a little as she waited for Barry to kiss her again.

When he did a few moments later, Lindsay was so worked up she couldn't help but moan in his mouth. Barry responded by kissing her even more enthusiastically, moving his tongue expertly around hers, running his fingers through her hair again. While this brought back memories from their previous kisses that evening, there was a finality that Lindsay hadn't quite felt until now. Somehow, she had a feeling that they could stay put where they were, that they could do whatever they wanted in this little room without getting caught- if they hurried.

They kissed and pressed their bodies close and ran their hands all over each other. Lindsay was getting more turned on by the second. It was getting to the point where she was tempted to make an even bolder move, like throwing Barry down onto the carpet or ripping his shirt off. But even though she was hoping things would keep escalating, at some point Barry appeared to have reached some sort of an impasse. While his kisses were passionate and his touches lingering, he made no move whatsoever to take things beyond whatever invisible line he had drawn in the sand. For Lindsay, it just wasn't enough.

By now, Lindsay was starting to understand why- Barry probably thought that she was too fragile after her recent breakup with Michael. And maybe she was, a little. But she still wanted what she wanted- and what she wanted right now was Barry, plain and simple. The sooner they cleared that up the better. They were running out of time.

Lindsay broke off the kiss, pulling away slightly. "Barry?" she whispered.

Barry's eyes were still closed, a content smile on his lips. "Yeah?"

Lindsay hesitated a moment before continuing. "I have to ask you something."

Barry gave her a curious look, eyes open now, eyebrow raised. "Okay."

"So- um, is kissing me still all that you want to do?" She was of course referring to the remark that he had made out in the cold.

That got his attention- Barry eyes widened. It took him a minute though to get past his surprise, articulate his answer. "Lindsay-," he began, slowly enunciating her name (which she _loved_ ), "This- this feels like a dream, just being able to kiss you. So I am in this closet with you tonight to do _whatever_ it is that _you_ want, and not even a little more. What is it that _you_ want to do in here?" Once again, clever Barry turned the question back around on her.

Well, what _did_ she want? She had referred to making up a new list- one that more accurately reflected what she was hoping to accomplish by showing up here tonight. The thing she was hesitating to add to it a few minutes ago was _way_ too scary to bring up now. But what else did she want? She knew, really, she had already admitted it to herself- now it was just the matter of saying it aloud.

"I want more," she whispered. "I want _you_."

This was really nothing new, either. Lindsay's 'what if' scenarios with Barry had long since extended to being physically intimate. Sure, when she was little her daydreams about Barry were about innocent things, like holding his hand- but ever since the last Schweiber party where they kissed- her thoughts about him had taken a much more deviant turn. Back when she was single after starting college, the thoughts were frequent- and _very_ sexual. Even after meeting Michael, Lindsay would be lying if she said that Barry had never played the starring role in one of her masturbatory fantasies. _And if being with him is_ anything _like kissing him_ , Lindsay thought to herself, _then I'll be in for a hell of a time_.

Barry didn't overtly react- he appeared to be waiting until he knew that Lindsay was finished talking. He continued to look at her gently and nod, biting his lip, not moving an inch. But something in Barry's eyes had changed. Lindsay had always loved how dark and intense they were normally- but now they were just oozing sensuality.

And Lindsay realized something. Barry was right to wait to react, because she _did_ want something else besides him. She was wrong about what she initially wanted to get out of the evening. She didn't just want to feel attractive and sexy. Lindsay took a deep breath, and looking into his smoldering eyes, told him so. "And I, um- I want to feel good. I want to feel _wanted_ ," she added, in a choked whisper so low she wondered if Barry could hear her. Suddenly she felt like she might cry.

"Lindsay," Barry's raspy voice was so sexy to her, but then he softened his tone, made it more comforting. "Lindsay,' he said her name again and it almost drove her wild, "you _are_ wanted. _I_ want you. More than anything, I want to be the one to make you feel good. In every way I can. Trust me."

Lindsay managed a little smile, already starting to feel better. Still, there was a little shred of doubt. "You do?" she asked him quietly, afraid to meet his eyes a moment. She believed him, mostly- her currently fragile ego just needed to hear him say it again.

But Barry did something different- rather than pull her close to a hug and reassure her like last time, he took her hand, placed his over it. "Of course," he whispered. "Don't believe me?" Slowly, slowly, he guided their hands to his body, over his shirt and pants, down to his crotch. He was as hard as a rock. Lindsay's eyes widened.

His technique was effective- him being so physically turned on communicated to her more than much he could say. But he added quietly anyway, chuckling, "See? And like I said, I'm just lucky to be here with you. So I'm willing to do _whatever_ you want me to do. Anything at all. I just needed you to tell me what you want. And since you just did- I guess-"

There wasn't anything left to say, anything else to be decided. So they kissed again. Lindsay had no idea who started it. All she knew was that this time, it wasn't long before there was a distinct shift. There was now a definitive direction for their kissing- it was going somewhere, it was _leading_ to something.

Things started getting more intense. Barry pulled Lindsay close and ran his hands all over her back and hips, finally settling on the sides of her thighs, gripping the edges of her skirt, hiking it up. Lindsay thought for a moment that he was going to pull down her leggings, but instead he lifted her legs so that they were wrapped around his midsection, leaning her into the wall onto a bunch of Mrs. Schweiber's coats that were hanging in the closet. Through the kissing, Lindsay half-smiled with pleasure- she was getting her coat fantasy after all. She crossed her ankles at Barry's back, tightening the grip of her thighs around his pelvis. It didn't matter that there were multiple layers of clothing between them- when she felt his erection press up against her wet leggings, she gasped for breath.

Their position was limiting, so with a quick glance downward during a moment of eye contact, Lindsay communicated to Barry what she wanted next. They quickly lay down on the floor, side-by-side, where it was easier to do some more exploring. Lindsay felt Barry's hands on her breasts as his fingertips lightly rubbed her nipples, all over her butt as he pressed their hips even closer together, and eventually up her skirt- where his touches sent jolts of pleasure coursing throughout her body. Lindsay reciprocated, and the payoff of Barry groaning in her ear while they were touching each other almost sent Lindsay over the edge.

Clothes went flying. Barry yanked her leggings down, she kicked her shit-kicker books off in a hurry, and they unbuttoned each others' tops so rapidly that a button from Barry's shirt popped off and flew across the room. To Lindsay, time felt like it was accelerating.

Before Lindsay knew it, she and Barry were laying buck naked on the floor of the closet, turned-on as hell, almost ready to have sex. But not before Barry had interrupted things again, first after throwing on a robe and checking that the coast was clear to go grab a condom (from the upstairs bathroom, of all places) and then again by stopping to whisper in her ear right before he entered her.

"Hey, Lindsay?"

Lindsay looked at him. And for a moment she could see the vulnerability in his eyes.

"Um, if I were to stop right now because I didn't want our first time to be on a night when you were trying to forget about your ex-boyfriend, would I ever get this opportunity again?"

Lindsay shrugged. She almost had to chuckle a bit at his timing. "Don't know. Probably not- it would take a while for me to forgive you for rejecting me. Even when I did- I guess it would just depend on if we ever saw each other again when we're both single. It doesn't seem to happen all that often."

"I'm _definitely_ not rejecting you. But- you're absolutely sure this is what you want? And not just because you've been drinking or because of your ex?"

Lindsay nodded emphatically. She'd never been so sure of anything in her entire life. "Yes, it's what I want, Barry. I haven't drank that much. And while I might still be upset about my ex- I've wanted to do this with you for a really long time."

Barry nodded, gave her a sly smile. "You have _no_ idea." Suddenly he looked determined, adding, "Well, if you're sure- there's no way in hell that I'm going to let a chance like this pass me by. But I've got to warn you about something." He said. Taking a deep breath, voice lowering, he leaned over to whisper in her ear again, "This is going to mean a lot more to me than it does to you. Just so you know."

Lindsay shook her head. Maybe she'd have the guts to tell him everything that she wanted after all. She smiled. "I doubt it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Twenty-five minutes later, Barry and Lindsay lay naked on the floor of Barry's parents' closet, spooning.

Oh, Barry made her feel good, all right. At present, Lindsay didn't feel confident enough to stand up without her knees buckling.

"Wow. That was fun," Barry commented casually.

"Uh-huh," Lindsay replied. Extensive vocabulary was escaping her at the moment. Fun was the understatement of the millennium. Barry knew it too- when she glanced over at him, he teasingly winked at her, as if to say, _'it was a hell of a lot more than fun, woman'_.

Lindsay grinned. Feeling completely relaxed, she voiced a random thought. "So- out of curiosity, why do you keep condoms in your upstairs bathroom?" she inquired.

Barry shrugged, a little embarrassed. "My dad gave some to both of us a little while back- sometime after Neal went to school. With everything we're hearing about AIDS now, he just wanted us to be safe. Neal and I figured the bathroom was a nice, neutral location where neither of us would have to invade the others' privacy to grab one."

"Is this a common occurrence?" Lindsay wondered how often Barry had girls over. At least, she had to think that she was unique in the fact that they were on the floor of his parents' closet. She'd like to think he hadn't done _that_ before.

Barry shook his head. "Um, no. My parents didn't like Janet much, so I didn't bring her here. And Neal's love life hasn't exactly been flourishing away from school. I'm pretty sure I took the first one."

Lindsay nodded and sighed, rolled over and snuggled her face closer to the little crook in-between Barry's neck and chest- she was too content to do much else. She relished the feeling of Barry's arms around her, the realization that a fantasy that she had for a _long_ time had finally come to fruition. Though nothing in her imagination could have lived up to the spectacular reality of it all. She didn't want the night to end.

But it would have to, and soon. Using the little bit of light from the crack in the door, a quick glance at her watch told her that it was almost midnight, and she'd _never_ known her parents to want to stay out after the witching hour.

Lindsay sighed in defeat. "I know my parents are going to want to go soon," she said grudgingly. "I guess I'd better get up and get dressed." She hoped the reluctance in her voice was obvious.

"Oh, no you don't, not yet," Barry said good-naturedly, before kissing her neck, her shoulder, the upper part of her arm. "I still can't believe I just made love to Lindsay Weir. I want to revel in it for just another minute."

"Made love?" Lindsay asked him, eyebrow cocked. Even she wouldn't go so far as to say that. She'd made love before, the really slow, drawn-out stuff. While the last half hour with Barry was passionate as hell, she wasn't sure she'd use the word lovemaking to describe what they did- they were both way too excited. She associated making love with a long steady buildup, lots of foreplay- but tonight the whole _evening_ felt like foreplay, so when it came right down to it, she was ready. Barry had tried to go down on her before they'd had sex, but she'd refused- not because she didn't think she'd enjoy it, but because she was worried about time, and because she didn't actually think it was possible to be any more turned-on than she already was. So they'd sort of skipped some of the appetizers and moved right to the main course.

Barry looked a little hurt at her response. "That's not what you'd call it? Wait, was I too rough with you or something?" he asked her, concerned.

"No," Lindsay quickly interjected. It was the truth- Barry managed to maintain the perfect combination of being passionate and being tender. She felt worshipped and respected and never once did the sex feel cheap- despite the fact that it was on the floor of a closet during a huge party. Lindsay just didn't associate the kind of physical pleasure she felt, or the timeline with which she felt it, with making love. Barry had made her come (the first time) within five minutes. For her, that had to be some kind of record. She tried to explain herself. "It's just- and this is _not_ a knock on you or anything- but it all happened kind of fast to call it that-" embarrassed, Lindsay cut herself off before she said any more.

When she finished, Barry merely raised an eyebrow at her, smirking. "Yeah, I guess it was a little fast. Hopefully you don't feel neglected," he said, winking at her again. He was kidding there, too. Orgasms as powerful as the ones Barry had just made her have- there was no faking them. Lindsay knew that _he_ knew how well he'd satisfied her.

"But that was only because I thought you were worried you'd get into trouble if we disappeared for too long," he continued, "Otherwise, I would've wanted it to last all night." He squeezed her waist as he gently repositioned her, spooning her again, pulling her close.

 _Be with Barry all night._ Lindsay could envision them ordering Chinese take-out at his apartment, renting a movie, never leaving the bed. As depleted as Lindsay currently was, the prospect of spending a whole night with Barry sounded really appealing. Now _that_ she would call making love. Never mind that the two of them hadn't actually said the L-word to each other in the romantic sense- she'd always felt a kind of love for him from growing up together, knowing him for so long, regardless of how confusing things might be between them now. Another 'want' popped into her mind before she could censor it, similar to the one that she was fighting with herself not to admit. She couldn't tell if this desire was simpler or more complicated.

 _I want to do this with him again._

She did know it felt safer to say. "That sounds fun, too," she ventured.

"Yeah, it does…." Barry trailed off wistfully. Glancing at him, he looked deep in thought.

But before he could say anything else, Lindsay heard the faint sound of her name being called. It was a faint sound that got a little louder the second time that she heard it a moment later. The source of the voice was getting closer. Masculine- but not her dad. _Sam_.

"Shit!" she exclaimed, bounding to her feet in record time and scanning the floor in an attempt to locate her underwear. She eventually noticed them flung into the corner of the closet atop a pair of Dr. Schweiber's shoes. "I have to get dressed- Sam is looking for me. Sorry," she apologized as she frantically grabbed them and slipped them on.

Barry, momentarily shell-shocked it seemed, just laid there a second, staring at Lindsay in her skivvies. But then the panic set in for him too as he jumped up and began to get dressed.

They managed to both put their own clothes on almost as fast as they had removed them from each other. By the time they heard a knock on the Schweiber's master bedroom door they were pretty well clothed. Thankfully it appeared to have taken Sam a little while to take a good guess at where they were.

"Lindsay?" Sam called, knocking again. Lindsay dashed from the closet, already dressed; Barry was still tying his shoes, gesturing that he would join her in a second.

"Hi, Sam," Lindsay said, a little breathlessly, slowly cracking open the bedroom door. She wished she had a little more time to mentally prepare to face her family. She was certain that her half-hour block of ecstasy with Barry was still registering clearly on her face. "I was just- um, I was just-"

"We were just grabbing her coat," Barry finished, coming up behind her and opening the door the rest of the way, holding the black trench which Lindsay had somehow left behind. "Uh- there wasn't enough coat space in the other room, so we moved some in here."

Sam just rolled his eyes. Unlike Neal, he didn't attempt to hide what he was feeling or censor what he was saying. "I'm not an idiot," he said exasperatedly. "Lindsay, your hair is really messed up. And Barry, you have makeup on your face. And your shirt looks like it's missing a button." Sam turned slightly, focusing his attention on Lindsay. "Look, Mom and Dad are wasted again, and they're ready to go. We're leaving. I'll give you a few minutes if you want to go to the bathroom and fix yourself up. When you're finished, come down and meet us- we'll be in the car. It probably needs time to warm up anyway."

Lindsay nodded seriously, before reaching out to touch Sam's shoulder. "Thanks, Sam. I'll be right down."

As soon as Sam left, Lindsay turned to Barry, grinning in spite of things. "Well, that was about the best-case scenario for getting caught," she began. It was true- there were about a hundred more embarrassing ways for their rendezvous to have been interrupted. But Lindsay was suddenly at a loss for what to say next. She went with the old reliable. "Well, um, sorry I have to go," she began. "I, um- I had a really great time."

Barry smiled. "Yeah. Me, too. Although great doesn't even begin to cover it, actually."

"Yeah. Hey, give me a sec, okay?" Lindsay gestured to the bathroom door down the hallway. Barry nodded, and pointed in the other direction, towards his parents' bathroom, indicating that he was about to go and do the same thing- remove the obvious signs (in his case, lipstick smudges on his face and neck) that they had messed around.

Looking at her reflection in another bathroom mirror as she washed her face, Lindsay quickly assessed the expectations vs. reality* of her current situation. To say that her wildest expectations going into this evening were exceeded would be an understatement. However, though tonight had satisfied every previous physical, sexual, and emotional craving, she couldn't help but wonder what was next, if any of the desires on her 'new list' would be addressed- and that prospect was a lot scarier. Coming onto Barry was easy- she knew he was attracted to her so the chances of him responding to them were pretty high. Besides, as well as she knew him, she figured he'd at least be flattered by her advances even if he didn't act on them. But what if a one-night stand was all he was looking for? The thought of Barry heading back to Ann Arbor as if tonight didn't mean anything suddenly made Lindsay feel a little nauseous. Just because he _said_ it meant something didn't mean that any of his subsequent actions would prove it.

Unlike putting her hand on his knee or telling him that she wanted more than kissing, however, Lindsay didn't feel she had anywhere near enough confidence to bring up that she wanted something beyond tonight- her comment about a night with Barry sounding nice was about as much as she was willing to confess. Unfortunately, Sam had interrupted before Barry had really had the chance to respond, so it was difficult to gauge if he felt the same way. Though she certainly wasn't willing to ask him. The ball was in Barry's court. She hated to hope that he would bring it up, but it was impossible not to.

Stepping out of the guest bathroom, Lindsay could see Barry waiting for her at the top of the stairs. He reached out and offered his hand. "C'mon, I'll walk you to the front door," he said.

She accepted, taking his hand in hers, their fingers intertwining. This was a good sign. "Okay."

The walk to the door, while it only took a couple of minutes, seemed like an eternity. On the way there, they passed Barry's parents and Lindsay stopped to thank them for hosting such a great event. She had attempted to drop Barry's hand, worried that his parents might make assumptions, but Barry wouldn't let her. However, even after washing her face and checking out her appearance in the mirror, she was too embarrassed that the signs of their tryst would be written all over her face. So she made her thank-you's brief (choosing not to approach Neal but to simply wave at him from across the room) and she and Barry headed towards the foyer.

When they got to the door, they just looked at each other. Lindsay had no idea what to say. Eventually Barry broke the silence.

"Can I come? Please?" His words echoed his sentiments from the Schweiber party five years before.

Lindsay grinned, and she remembered back to that night, how much of a disaster it was with Neal and his ventriloquism, and how much Barry was obviously needed around the Schweiber house. Tonight- not so much- but with both of their parents and siblings around (and in the state that hers were in), and given what they already did, it made more sense for them to part ways for the time being. Nevertheless, Lindsay couldn't resist being a little dirty. "I thought you already did."

"Touché."

They smiled at each other for a second, falling into an uncomfortable silence. After a few seconds, during which Lindsay felt the anxiety start to bubble up inside of her, Barry finally spoke up.

"I really want to see you again."

Music to Lindsay's ears. Exactly what she needed to hear. Relief flooded her body. "You do?"

"Yeah, of course," he replied, squeezing her hand.

"That sounds fun," she said again, repeating her thoughts from up on the closet floor. While she was going to be leaving to go back to Chicago next weekend, and would be there for the next couple of months getting everything finished for graduation, she also knew that especially after everything that had just happened with Michael, she didn't want to rush into her next move, her next job. It would make a lot of sense to move home temporarily after graduation while she figured things out, applying where _she_ wanted to work, where _she_ wanted to go. Maybe she would end up seeing more of Barry this summer. "Sure. I guess I'll call you the next time I'm in town, maybe sometime in late May?"

Barry looked puzzled. "Wait, that's not what I meant."

"Oh," Lindsay tried to feign indifference, but it was impossible. So he was going to _say_ he wanted to see her, but then not actually follow up, get scared when she suggested an actual timeline. Crestfallen, she fell into silence.

Barry spoke up again. "No, I mean- I thought you were staying in town this week. Aren't you?"

 _Oh, so he wants to see me sooner than May_. Lindsay smiled. "Yeah, I'm here until next Sunday. When do you go back to school?"

"Technically, my spring break ends tomorrow. Classes start back on Monday. But I can head back tomorrow night, if I can see you in the afternoon. Or I can drive back next weekend, if that doesn't work."

"Oh. Okay. Tomorrow sounds great," she had no plans whatsoever while she was home other than to mope about Michael. Seeing Barry sounded like a much better idea. Though with both of them staying at their parents' place, and it being during the day, she wondered what Barry could have up his sleeve. She doubted they'd get the opportunity for a repeat performance. She broached the subject as tactfully as she could. "And what did you want to do..?"

"Why, take you out on a date, of course," Barry replied. "No pressure or anything," he quickly added, obviously thinking about the situation with her ex. "Maybe we could go to lunch and a movie, or go hiking and pack a picnic. Honestly I don't care what we do- as long as I get to see you, spend some more time with you."

At that moment, Lindsay knew how incredibly lucky she was. Not only would she be able to tell Barry everything that she wanted, but she was pretty sure she was going to get it all.

* * *

*just a nod to (500) Days of Summer, one of my all-time favorite movies


End file.
